Fulfilling Empty Promises
by Strawberry Shortcake123
Summary: When Ziva stepped inside his apartment, Tony caught a glimpse of something in her hand, and his heart sank. It was a ring box. Tag to 8x24, Pyramid. Tiva. Oneshot.


_Ziva is walking down the aisle in a figure-flattering white dress that falls gently to her ankles. In her hands is a bright bouquet of flowers, and as she passes all the admiring eyes- alone; nobody is giving her away- she grins. The grin, however, is not directed at any of the guests; it is toward the front, at the man waiting for her at the alter._

_She steps up beside him and looks up at Ray with that radiant smile. Ray takes her hand and together, they turn toward the front, ready to be united forever…_

"Agh!"

Tony DiNozzo sat up too fast and promptly fell off the couch. On his way to the floor, he hit his head on the coffee table. "Ouch!"

He lay on the ground, rubbing his head and staring at the ceiling. This wasn't the first time he had dreamed about Ziva marrying CI-Ray. Ever since she had introduced him to the team and he became this real person in Ziva's life, not just a name, Tony had been dreaming about their wedding. In the dream, he was always seated at the back, and he always wanted to jump up and object to their marriage, but he couldn't. His legs and mouth wouldn't work, and he had to watch her marry someone else and leave him behind…

A loud banging on his door jerked him out of his thoughts. He sat up as a voice yelled, "Tony!"

It was Ziva. He scrambled up and hurried to open the door for her, relief washing over him because she had not abandoned him for Ray. Not yet.

But when she stepped inside, he caught a glimpse of something in her hand, and his heart sank.

It was a ring box.

"Hello, Tony." Ziva slipped out of her jacket and lay it across the back of the couch, completely oblivious to his inner turmoil. "I hope I am not intruding. I just, um… need to talk to you."

"Congratulations," he blurted without thinking. She looked at him curiously. "About, you know… that."

"What… oh." Inhaling deeply, she stepped carefully around him and sank onto his couch. "Actually, that is why I am here."

"To tell me? What, a phone call wouldn't do?" Tony forced a chuckle and stuck his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants. He carefully avoided her gaze. If he met it, he was afraid he'd start crying.

"I am not getting married, Tony."

Now he did look at her; he was so taken aback that he did it automatically. "What?"

Ziva looked into her lap and turned the box over in her hands. "The box is empty. He gave me an empty box and called it a promise."

"Sounds like an empty promise to me."

She looked over at him as he sat on the couch beside her, trying to keep the immense relief out of his face. "Perhaps."

"I mean, if he meant it, he could have bought you a promise ring. Either it's empty, or he's just cheap."

When Ziva turned to him with her eyes narrowed, he cleared his throat. "Sorry. I'm being obnoxious. The guy just irks me."

"You don't say." With a sigh, she settled back into the couch and stared at the television without really seeing it. "I really liked him, Tony. I thought I might love him. And now, he has gone and done this, and… I do not know what to think."

Tony watched her face and thought for a minute, and then said, "Remember when you broke up with him, and I told you that you should give him another chance because he cared about you?"

She looked at him. "Yes."

"I take it back."

"Really? Because of this?"

"Because when Cobb kidnapped you, I was a hell of a lot more worried than CI-Ray was."

Ziva stared at him. Tony stared at her, half regretting his words and half glad that he'd gotten them off his chest.

Finally, she lowered her eyes, swallowed, and asked, "Is that true?"

Heart pounding, he replied, "Yeah."

She shook her head slowly, looking tired and defeated. "For some reason, that does not surprise me."

"I'm sorry, Ziva." Tony tentatively reached out and stroked her hair. When she didn't object, he tucked it behind her ear and pushed it behind her shoulder. "You deserve a lot better."

"It is fine." Ziva allowed her head to loll onto his shoulder, much to his surprise- but he definitely wasn't complaining. "You are apparently the only man I can trust."

"That's not true. You can trust Gibbs and McGee and Ducky."

"Yes." She shifted so she could look at him. "But that is in a different way."

Whoa.

Tony couldn't keep the corners of his mouth from turning upward. This was the closest she had come to admitting any feelings for him since _Do you ever think about soul mates?_

Not that she had stated is explicitly, or anything.

But still.

He reached for the TV remote and turned it on, his other arm settling around Ziva's shoulders and pulling her into him. He found a movie and left it on that channel, but he wasn't really watching it. He was more focused on the warm body curled against him, and her hand resting lightly on his knee, and the fact that every time she exhaled, her breath tickled his neck.

And the fact that she was here with him, and that they were having a perfectly fine time without CI-Ray.

**Thank you to my lovely cousin for the idea for this oneshot. Hope you liked! Review?**


End file.
